With backing from the Pentagon and Republican lawmakers, the Clinton administration is seeking ironclad guarantees from its allies that U.S. soldiers will not be prosecuted by a new war crimes court. So far, the U.S. has not been successful in changing rules of the world’s first permanent International Criminal Court, that’s supported strongly by the European Union, Canada and many Latin American and African countries. But David Scheffer, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes, has submitted a new proposal he hopes will convince nations to exclude Americans from prosecution without exempting leaders or citizens from “irresponsible countries.” At issue is a new International Criminal Court to be located in The Hague, Netherlands, to prosecute individuals for the world’s most horrible crimes — genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Some 120 countries approved the court’s statutes at a conference in Rome two years ago. The United States was among seven nations that voted against.